Undiano Mallenco was not the most popular man in Madrid after Sunday’s “clásico”, the referee receiving a lot of abuse from the home team after sending off Sergio Ramos and awarding two late penalties which allowed Barcelona to walk away from the Bernabeu stadium with three points. Undiano also failed to spot Busquets stepping lovingly on Pepe’s head as he lay on the ground (a video clip which has gone viral), but he did deal ably with another spot of “handbags at three paces” between Pepe and Fàbregas, letting both off with a yellow card after they locked foreheads and then fell to the ground like a synchronized diving team. However the only penalty decision which was clearly wrong was the one he gave at the other end earlier on, Dani Alves tripping Cristiano Ronaldo outside of the area, although Madrid also wanted a couple more penalties, for a possible hand ball by Fàbregas and a trip on Bale later on. Curiously, Undiano was only in charge of the game as Madrid objected to the original designation of Clos Gómez! They would have been better off not saying anything!

If Undiano’s performance was questionable though, that of Ayza Gámez on Monday at Almería was downright poor! First of all he awarded visitors Real Sociedad a penalty after the ball hit Trujillo on the arm, ruling that it was deliberate, but then he let off Carlos Martínez for something similar or worse. Early on in the second half he ruled out a strike by Verza for a non-existent offside (Real went up the other end and scored themselves straight afterwards), but then he awarded two penalties for the locals, the first for a foul by Carlos Martínez on Aleix Vidal more than a yard outside of the box, and the second between the same two players, Vidal getting free of his marker but flinging himself to the ground as soon as he realized he had lost control of the ball. It was all too much for Almería coach Francisco, and his protests earned him a trip to the stands after picking up two bookings. (26.03.14)